Opinion: N.J. counties should take over responsibility for police, fire, health, public works, recreation, engineering

Jody Somers/For The Star-LedgerA sign on the border of Princeton Township, NJ and Princeton Borough, NJ on Harrison Street simply reads "Welcome to Princeton." Although a vote to consolidate both towns passed Tuesday, the factors that made the ballot question successful may not translate to other N.J. communities.

By Barry Chalofsky

Last New Year’s Day, Princeton Township and Princeton Borough finalized their consolidation efforts. While I applaud their courage, this represents only the second consolidation since 1997, when Pahaquarry Township merged with Hardwick Township. While our legislative leadership and governors have sought for years to save money by encouraging municipal consolidation and shared services, they have met with little success: In addition to 565 municipalities, we also have 603 school districts in the state, 729 fire departments and hundreds of police departments, numerous health departments and many other overlapping services.

Many residents of New Jersey like to think the town they live in has some sort of long-term status. With few exceptions, however, most of us live within municipal boundaries that have been constantly shifting since New Jersey was first founded in the 1600s. Over the last 300 years, municipalities in New Jersey have evolved, changed, shifted from one county to another or just disappeared.

One website lists 2,590 named places in New Jersey (njhometownlocater.com). These were all either towns, settlements, villages, neighborhoods or some type of place that once existed and, to some, still exist in residents’ minds as “the place I live.”

Most of us know that it makes financial sense to consolidate, but we don’t want to give up our sense of identity. However, I would argue that we have already given up that identity many times in the last 300 years. Imagine if we had 2,590 municipal governments! I think it’s time we thought on a larger scale. Not by begging towns to merge and/or share services, or by punishing them by withholding state aid, but by requiring counties to take over all essential services while preserving local identity.

Most states rely upon county governments to provide essential services for local municipalities. While this is largely due to how municipalities were formed, the result is the same: less bureaucracy, more efficient service. Government is best for providing public service, but too much government leads to higher costs and lower efficiency.

I propose the 21 counties take over responsibility for police, fire, health, public works, programs for the aging, recreation and engineering. They should also eventually take over all publicly owned sewerage facilities. Municipalities that have, say, more than 25,000 in population could continue to operate local municipal services such as planning, zoning and construction approvals. All taxes would be funneled through the county. All existing police and fire facilities would be analyzed, and reductions would be made with the goal of ensuring adequate local protection.

All union contracts would continue until the next cycle, but then would be negotiated with the county. All other public employees would be allowed to seek representation. Counties would work together with the state to develop salary scales that are equitable statewide. Pension and health benefits would be coordinated at the state level with unionized collective bargaining, and all 21 counties would participate with the state. Municipalities could have an unpaid town council and mayor. Major planning and zoning decisions could be initiated by the municipality, but would need to be ratified by the county. Minor planning and zoning decisions that don’t impact neighboring municipalities could be handled locally. All municipal recreational facilities and parks would become the property and responsibility of the county. All of the libraries would also be taken over by the county. Ultimately, all school districts should be taken over by the county.

One of the most difficult issues is the allocation of resources and tax dollars. Among the most critical factors in the appeal of a municipality are the services offered and the upkeep of the environment. Most people who live in Princeton or Chatham will want their tax dollars to be spent in their town. Therefore, I propose that the allocation of taxes should take into account the amount of tax dollars per capita raised.

However, we need to recognize that we are a very small state and what happens in Trenton affects the quality of life in Princeton. Therefore, we need to factor in a countywide allocation as well. We need to look at how other states have used this form of government successfully for many years.

This proposal would take a number of years to implement, and there are many details to resolve. The goal is to consolidate services without losing local identity. We are losing the battle to fight property taxes and will continue to lose if we don’t do something dramatic. I call upon the Legislature and the governor to work together to bring about positive change for our state’s future.

Barry Chalofsky, P.P., former chief of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s storm water and ground water programs, is an environmental and land-use planning consultant and an adjunct instructor of environmental planning at Rutgers University. Reach him at bchalofassociates.com.